Expo Lets Parents Plan For Summer Camp

CORAL SPRINGS — While local children look forward to their upcoming Spring Break, many parents already are planning a season ahead by signing their youths up for summer camp.

The "Spring into Summer Expo" showcasing local recreational programs took place on Saturday, not at a park or a gymnasium, but between the Burdines and the Courtyard Food Court at the Coral Square mall.

"We figured we'd get more exposure this way," said Jaci Foster, a Coral Springs Parks and Recreation Department manager who will conduct a teen program this summer.

The expo, the city's second, was designed to give parents a central location from which to pick local recreational programs.

The director of a camp for disabled children, Ellen Downie, said the "little bit of everything" available to youths in Coral Springs created the need for the centralized expo.

"It's a great one-shot opportunity, rather than having to run around to different parks," said Ellen Duker, a Coral Springs resident and mother of two boys.

Lindey Puia of Coral Springs picked up a gymnastics application for her 4-year-old daughter while on a break from work at Burdines.

"It's not something I have to call around for. It's right here," she said.

Most parents just stopped briefly to pick up various applications, and between 1,000 to 1,500 were handed out, officials said. But with about 20 park officials and camp directors at the expo, some parents took advantage of the opportunity to get a preliminary glance at their children's summer counselor.

"Parents can talk to the people running the camps, so they can feel comfortable about where they're sending their kids," Dixon said.

The most popular offerings were the specialty camps, which include basketball and wrestling. But all get their share of applicants because "a lot of parents are getting real panicky now about what they're going to do with their kids this summer," Downie said.

"The expo gives people an opportunity to get a head start on their summer plans," said former University of Miami basketball player Mike Noblet, who runs two basketball camps during the summer.